


Bumpy Skin

by jetaddict69



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Food, Platonic Relationships, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:26:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8204368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetaddict69/pseuds/jetaddict69
Summary: Ava attempts to explain pre-war food items to Danse.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm working on a whole compilation of these little mundane (but hopefully adorable) moments between them in the build up to a romantic relationship! Hopefully i'll get a few more of these out soon (:

The meeting table was not particularly good at being that, but it served as an appropriate place for Ava to study her coordinates and keep her brain sharp in near peace and quiet, away from the buzzing generators and loud radio transmission. She would hastily scribble out timelines and diagrams of tactical operations from world wars gone by, attempting to remember all the information she had been so familiar with in her past life. She tucked her notes into folders labelled accordingly, and pulled out some blank note paper so she could continue to remember the scents, flowers, the fresh food of the prewar era. Danse silently wandered into the meeting chamber and peered over her shoulder, startling her in deep thought and causing her to haphazardly rush her sketches out of embarrassment. His brow was lowered and his eyes wide as he questioned her fascination with these folders and notes. He loved to collect old books and artefacts, believing his knowledge to be one of his most worthwhile assets, yet he was perplexed by her continuous drawing, her nonsensical scribbles, and pages of numbers that resembled nothing more than childish dribble. She felt harshly judged under his interrogation, placing her head in her hands and feeling her cheeks grow warm.  
‘it seems so stupid, so trivial and unimportant’,  
she thought to herself, feeling his eyes glaring into her back. As she turned in her chair to face him, he realised how embarrassed she had become at his incessant implied questioning.  
“I apologise soldier”, he began, “It wasn’t my intention to upset you”.  
She exhaled sharply and forced a sarcastic smile.  
“I am curious as to what activities you are constantly engaged in, soldier. Do not take offence to my curiosity”, he continued, attempting to diffuse the unnecessarily hostile situation the way he had been trained, lacking emotion and empathy.

 

Ava understood that manners and good intentions were not always synonymous in the wasteland, and although hesitant, she decided to pull out a number of sketches from her folders.  
“I’m forgetting”, she exhaled, distraught.  
Danse raised an eyebrow, his expression begging an explanation.  
“I’m forgetting the”, she paused briefly to catch her thoughts, “I’m forgetting the smell of freshly cut grass, I can’t remember what a crisp, fresh green apple tastes like, I’m forgetting”, she stopped. She couldn’t even remember half of the sensations she had forgotten.  
A rare look of sympathy spread across Danse’s face as he pulled up a chair next to her and looked over her sketches. He could make out what they were as he looked closer. She had drawn types of food that were completely foreign to him, she had scribbled down their taste and their scent in the best way that she could manipulate the English language to describe them.  
Although this information may not be valuable to him, he wanted to learn more, he wanted to know about the mundane, day to day activities and items people took for granted 200 years ago.  
“So tell me more about this, soldier”, he pointed to one of the drawings, one with less information than the others.  
She coyly smiled at him and quickly added some more texture and detail to her sketch.  
“That’s a carrot”, she began, “They were orange in colour”, she continued as she pointed at the orange colour of Danse’s BOS jumpsuit, “But they were usually dirty, because they grew in dirt’, she chuckled, ‘They were firm, and had a sharp crunch when you bit into it. They almost felt like they’d break your teeth. That’s why we often cooked them”. She shyly smiled as she noticed Danse’s enormous grin. Ava was an incredibly passionate person, and often gave speeches that were broadcast across the Commonwealth for all to hear, but there was something decidedly candid about her describing this vegetable.   
“What did it taste like?”, Danse asked. He was having trouble reading her cursive script.  
“It’s difficult to describe taste”, she thought out loud, “They were sweet but we often ate them as a savoury food. They were dense without feeling starchy and heavy. They had a sharp earthiness that altered when cooked”, she trailed off, scribbling some of these words down in her notes, as she pretended to eat.  
Danse smiled, confused at her actions, as he searched through her other papers.  
“And this?” he asked, pointing to a round fruit.  
“That’s an orange”, she once again pointed to his suit, “We weren’t very creative when it came to naming our fruit”, she smiled, “It had tough, bumpy skin that you would peel. You couldn’t eat the skin, it was far too bitter. Beneath the skin was a fibrous membrane, it was slightly bitter too, but it didn’t have much of a taste, and was soft enough to eat. Below that was the flesh. It looked as though someone had stitched hundreds of tiny, glistening orange diamonds together. It was juicy, watery, but had an intense flavour. Citrus-y and sour, but incredibly sweet. We used to make juice out of it”, she said, as she gazed off into space, reminiscing about the luxurious taste of such a previously common fruit.  
Her description had intrigued Danse, he couldn’t imagine tasting anything so flavoursome. Most of the foods he had eaten were starchy, bland, and tough.   
Ava packed the remaining notes back into her folder and stored them in the meeting room’s filing cabinets. She felt warm and comfortable reminiscing about her favourite foods, though she couldn’t escape the overwhelming sense of dread and longing for her past.  
“Thank you for confiding in, and teaching me”, Danse began, a concerned look in his eyes, “I know it can’t have been easy for you. You’re such a determined and strong soldier that I often forget about your past. Please understand that I appreciate your friendship, and would be interested in hearing more about items from your past.”, he stopped for a moment, as though he was eager to share more compliments but wasn’t sure how to begin, “I am glad to have met you”, he finished.  
Ava nodded at him, and smiled with a look of respect and gratitude.  
“I’m glad to have met you too”.


End file.
